Torn
by Lionheart543
Summary: Years after the fall of Voldemort, the wizarding world is more divided then it has ever been before. One decision can shape the rest of your life and, once you've chosen, there is no going back. Follow Lily Luna Potter as she is forced to choose between her family and the man she loves. Next generation fic.
1. The Beginning

Lilly Luna Potter smiled slightly as they pulled up to Kings Cross station. Finally, after a terribly long summer, she was going back to Hogwarts School of Witch Craft and Wizardry. Lilly could remember first arriving at the station three years ago when she was only a tiny first year. She had been so excited to be finally going to Hogwarts. As the youngest in the Potter-Weasly-Lupin clan (or the Golden Marauders as her brother James and her cousins Fred and Molly liked to call it), she was always babied at home by her mother and her various aunts. Going to Hogwarts was the first real taste of freedom she had ever had. Lilly knew her family didn't mean to baby her but ever since the system had been put in place everything was unsafe. The system was meant to keep the peace and order but in reality it just made people more hostile and more divided.

Fifteen years after the second wizarding war, the dark side began to rise again. Everyone feared another war so the Ministry of Magic passed a law that stated that every wizard and witch who had finished their education, had to declare his or her allegiance to either the side of the light, or the side of the dark. The law ripped families' apart and pitted brother against brother. The wizarding community of Britain was divided, quite literally. The eastern side of Wizarding Britain was where all members of the side of the light lived and the west was the same for the dark. Places like London and Hogwarts remained neutral, though London still tended to split into light areas and dark areas. Her father had been voted in as leader of the side of the light and he, and his best friends Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, ran the side of the light as a democracy. The side of the dark, however, returned to the way it had been previously ran by Lord Voldermort and Draco Malfoy had stepped in and taken charge. All those she had spoken to at Hogwarts whose parents had decided to go dark, said that Draco Malfoy was a fair leader and, though he could be terrifying, was able to do what was right for everyone in the community.

At the end of last school year her brother had had to align and no one was surprised when James Sirius Potter decided to join the light side. Her father had been raising James to take over after he retired and would have been shocked if her brother had decided to join Draco Malfoy.

Lilly opened the door of the Potter's family car and walked around to the back of the car to get her trunk out the boot. Her brother Al came and stood next to her looking uninterested and bored. Lilly rolled her eyes playfully.

"Cheer up Al!" She said trying to sound as happy as possible knowing it would annoy her brother. "Aren't you excited to be going back to Hogwarts?" Her brother gave her a withering look that Lilly just laughed at.

Al was the complete opposite of James. Yes, they had the same hair. Yes, they had the same build but that was where the similarities ended. Al had their father's eyes but while Harry's were kind and soft, Al's were calculatingly cold. Al was a perfect Slytherin. He was ruthless, cunning, and vindictive and he wasn't afraid to make other's lives miserable. Especially Gryffindors.

Al all but refused to be in the same room as James let alone talk to him.

It had been this way since they had been little. James was always with their cousins Fred and Molly or with other children his age. Al didn't like people, even at a young age, and the only person he played with was Lilly who would follow him around like a lost puppy. Lilly had eventually grown out of this when Al went to Hogwarts, leaving her alone with only her parents for company. Al had become more distant to James and his parents once he had returned from Hogwarts but the bond he and Lilly had remained the same.

"Can't you see I'm trilled?" Al replied sarcastically walking to where their mother and father were standing. Lilly followed him and the four headed into the station together. Both of Lilly's parents were wearing muggle clothing but the four of them were still stared at by people passing by. The Potters had something about them that just made people stop and stare. With her father, James and Al it was their messy hair and toned body that drew stranger's attention to them, while with her mother it was the fact that Ginny Potter was gorgeous. Lilly was starting to look more like her mother as she got older and couldn't wait until she finally got curves.

Lilly knew that she'd grown up a lot over the summer. Her breasts had grown and she had started to get a more athletic build. Over the summer Lilly had discovered that she really enjoyed running. So every morning she would get up early and go for a run. Each time she ran further and further until she could run slightly over and hour without stopping.

Once the four of them went through the portal to the platform, Al immediately separated from them without saying a word to go find Scorpious Malfoy. Al and Scorpious had met on the train to Hogwarts when they were first years and had become best friends almost instantly. People were drawn to Scorpious as he was handsome and had extreme charisma but Scorpious only considered a few people as his friends, and her brother was one of them.

As Al walked away, Lilly could see hurt in her mothers eyes. Lilly knew that her mother blamed herself for the fact that Al was a Slytherin. Why? Lilly didn't know but she vividly remembered her mother crying when she had received Al's letter saying that he had been sorted into Slytherin.

Twenty years ago it wouldn't have been as much of a big deal but now being sorted into Slytherin, or even Gryffindor, practically determined the rest of your life. There was a saying that every student at Hogwarts knew to be true, "Gryffindors go to the light. Slytherin's go to the dark. Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs are fifty-fifty." But though Lilly was a Ravenclaw she didn't have much of a choice either.

Al was going to go dark. Lilly knew it. Her parents knew it. James knew it. All her cousins knew it. Draco Malfoy knew it. Even Headmistress McGonagall knew it. And because of this if Lilly didn't go light it would look bad on her father. How could the leader of the side of the light have two out of three of his children go dark? One was bad enough but two? No she wouldn't do that to her father. She would go light and fight the darkness just as the rest of her family, save Al and Rose, would.

Lilly looked around the platform for any one of her many cousins. Since her mother had so many brothers she had in total 9 cousins, 4 of which who were still at Hogwarts. She scanned the crowd before spotting Rose standing with her mother talking to a few of her mother's old school friends. Lilly hurried over and wrapped Rose in a bear hug.

"Hello Rose." Lilly said, smiling at her cousin. She and Rose had always been close even with their two-year age difference. Rose was also a Slytherin along with Al and was part of Al and Scorpious's group. She had browny-blond curly hair like her mother and hazel eyes. Rose was very pretty and Lilly had always wanted to look like her growing up. These days Lilly was a lot more confident about her hair but she still wished her hair were a normal colour like brown or black instead of bright red.

"Hi Lilly! Looking forward to returning to Hogwarts?" Rose always looked so sweet and innocent but Lilly knew there was a dark side to her cousin; otherwise she would have been placed in Ravenclaw like her.

"Yes. To be honest I'm really looking forward to getting away from home. Everything's been far too tense and dad has been holding meeting every day with various people. I think I'm going to try out for the Quiditch team this year since James isn't around to stop me anymore." James had always been fiercely protective of her and playing quiditch wasn't exactly a great way to stay safe.

Rose snorted, "James needs to learn to mind his own business. And you should! Maybe Ravenclaw will have a chance of winning this year if you play."

"Oh! Hello Lilly dear!" Lavender Weasley said in surprise having not previously realised that her niece had been standing there. Her friends had all left to go and find their children and say goodbye before they left for the year. "How was your summer? Are your parents around here somewhere?" Her aunt pulled her into a tight hug.

"Hello Aunt Lav! They're just over there, talking to Neville and Luna Longbottom." Lilly said in response as she was released from the hug.

"Oh, I must go and say hello. Come see me before you get on the train, Rose." With that Lavender Weasley headed towards her parents, darting between families saying goodbye.

Lilly and Rose gave each other a knowing smile. Lavender Weasley was an optimistic woman and liked to believe that all was right with the world. And as long as his wife was happy, Lilly's uncle left her to it.

"Hello girls." A voice said from behind them. Turning around the two girls saw Hermione Granger smiling softly at them. Lilly rushed into her arms, giving her a tight hug. Lilly had always had a good relationship with Hermione and tended to call her Aunt Hermione rather than just Hermione.

"Aunt Hermione! What are you doing here? You never come to King's Cross!" Lilly said curiously. It was true; Hermione never came to King's Cross-, or even London for that matter, unless she absolutely had to.

"I have a meeting at the Ministry in twenty minutes so I figured I'd come and see you off before heading over there." Hermione said with a smile. Lilly smiled back but she could see unease in Hermione's eyes.

"Well it's great to see you." Lilly said. Hermione smiled at her before turning her head and looking to the right where more families were standing. Suddenly Hermione froze. Lilly turned and followed Hermione's gaze to see that Draco Malfoy was heading towards them.

"Excuse me girls but I have to get going." Hermione said, drawing them both into a hug. "Remember to write to me!" And with that Hermione Granger moved swiftly into the crowd of people.

Lilly gave Rose an odd look, which her cousin returned, but before they could speak Draco Malfoy was upon them. He looked very like his son, with pale blonde hair and grey stormy eyes.

"Rose, how was your summer?" Mr Malfoy said with a smirk. He knew Rose well as she spent a lot of time at Malfoy Manor but Lilly knew that Mr Malfoy terrified Rose.

"Good, though I'd rather have been at Hogwarts, Sir." Rose said without missing a beat. Being the Slytherin she was, Rose didn't let her true emotions show.

"Good, good." Mr Malfoy said, "Have you seen Albus by any chance? I need to speak with him urgently." He gave Lilly a sly look that she ignored. Being the true Malfoy he was, he took any opportunity to gloat about the fact that Albus was going to go dark rather than light.

"No, Sir I haven't." Rose said. "He's probably with Scorpious though, Sir."

"Thank you for your help Miss Weasley." Mr Malfoy said, still wearing that annoying smirk. "I hope you have a good year at Hogwarts and I look forward to seeing you next summer." With that Mr Malfoy walked off in the direction in which Al headed as they entered the platform.

"He hates me." Lilly stated, bluntly.

"I don't think he hates you. I think he hates your family which, looking at it from his perspective, is quite understandable." Rose said, pinning a piece of hair to the back of her head.

"I guess you're right." Lilly admitted quietly. "Anyway, I have to go find mum and dad before I get on the train."

"Will you come and sit in our compartment? I could do with some female company." Rose asked. Lilly hesitated. It wasn't that she didn't want to sit with Rose but rather that she didn't want to sit with Scorpious. He made her uncomfortable.

"I don't know, I mean, Albus won't want his little sister sitting with his friends. I think it would be better if I didn't." Lilly hoped that would be enough for Rose to just drop the subject but unfortunately her cousin didn't.

"I don't care what Al wants. I really want you to come sit with me. Please, it'll be fun!" Rose said. Lilly knew she was fighting a loosing battle. When Rose wanted something she often got it, no matter what it was.

"Ok, fine. Just let me go say goodbye to my parents." If Rose had been in any other house but Slytherin she would have squealed and hugged her.

Lilly headed back over towards her parents and told them that she was going to board the train. She hugged each of her parents and picked up her trunk and started towards the train when her mother stopped her.

"Wait, Lilly! Have you seen Albus? I wanted to say goodbye before he left." Lilly could feel her heart break a little at the desperation in her mother's voice. Lilly shook her head.

"Sorry, Mum. I think he already boarded the train." Lilly kissed her mother's cheek once more before turning back towards the train and walking over to where Rose was standing.

The two girls boarded the train and put their trunks away before heading along the corridor looking for the compartment that contained Lilly's brother, Scorpious Malfoy, Jonathan Nott and Marcus Flint. Jr.

The four boys and Rose had been close friends since the very first day of Hogwarts where they were all put into Slytherin together. There was only two other girls in Slytherin who were Rose's age and she hated the both. Rose much more preferred to spend her time with the boys.

As they neared the back of the train, Rose suddenly stopped and opened a compartment on the left hand side of the train. The four boys sat talking amongst themselves as the girls walked in. As soon as Lilly entered the compartment all conversation stopped. Lilly couldn't help herself from blushing. Due to all the running she had done over the summer, Lilly had become a lot more attractive.

Lilly sat down next to her brother who simply smiled at her and conversation continued. Rose was seated opposite her in deep conversation with Marcus. Al and Jonathon were talking which only left her and Scorpious Malfoy sitting in silence. Suddenly Malfoy, who was sitting on the other side of her brother, spoke up.

"Al, switch seats with me if you're not going to speak with me. I'd much rather be able to talk to your sister than be stuck looking out the window." He said and Lilly felt her heart skip a beat. She really didn't want to sit next to Scorpious Malfoy and silently begged her brother to refuse. But her brother just rolled his eyes and stood up to switch places with his friend. Scorpious slid along the booth until he was sitting far too close for Lilly's liking.

The boys and Rose continued talking while Lilly just watched. She could feel Scorpious eyes burning holes into the side of he head every now again but forced herself not to turn and face him. After about an hour Lilly decided she was sick of it.

"Are you going to talk to me at all or just continue staring?" She asked, looking him in the eye. Scorpious's eyes were filled with amusement as he smirked at her. He looked a lot like his father at this particular moment.

"I'd rather stick to staring, if that's alright." He replied, raising an eyebrow, "But if you would like to talk to me that's absolutely fine." Lilly rolled her eyes.

"Right, okay you creep. How was your summer?" Lilly asked, pretending to be interested. Scorpious snorted.

"Come on Lilly, you can do better than that. I'm sure you can think of something more…personal to ask me than the general 'How was your summer?'" This time it was Lilly's turn to raise one eyebrow at him (a skill she had mastered over the summer).

"Such as?" She asked. Scorpious leaned towards her. Lilly gulped. He was extremely good looking. Even better looking up close than from afar.

"You look gorgeous right now, did you know that?" Scorpious said, staring into her eyes intently. Lilly had to stop herself from blushing. Instead she rolled her eyes and turned away.

"Flattery will get you no where." Lilly said coolly. Looking around the compartment, Lilly was relieved to see that none of the other Slytherins had noticed what had passed between her and Scorpious. Or at least they all pretended not to notice, She stood up. "Well, I best be going. Jen and Sarah are probably waiting for me." She gave Rose a hug and glanced at Scorpious one more before she exited the compartment.

Lilly let out a long, heavy sigh. She had a feeling that Hogwarts this year was going to be a hell of a lot different.

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 **Hey! I hope you enjoyed the first chapter and if you want me to continue please let me know!**


	2. Returning Home

**Hey guys, I'm so sorry this took so long to upload - I had serious writer's block. This chapter was meant to be a lot longer but I cut the chapter into two so I could get this out quicker. I hope you enjoy and please leave reviews below.**

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Lilly walked down the carriages, peering in every compartment checking for her friends Jen and Sarah. Jen and Sarah had been her best friends since first year, when they were sorted into the same house on the first day. Jen and Sarah were both muggleborns and that, looking back, was probably one of the things that had attracted Lilly to them.

 _When her name had been called at the sorting ceremony, the Great Hall fell silent in anticipation. She was the last Potter to be sorted and where she was sorted was a big deal for the wizarding world. The Daily Prophet were there taking photos, getting ready to report her sorting in the paper the next day. People had even been betting on which house she would be sorted into. Many thought she'd be a Gryffindor like her brother and most of her family. Some members of the Dark hoped she'd be Slytherin, to ruin her father's image completely._

 _When she was sorted into Ravenclaw many had been disappointed._

 _The members of Ravenclaw House cheered loudly once her sorting was announced and welcomed her with open arms and hugged her. It was all an act; they just wanted to gloat that they had hugged a Potter child. Lilly had sat down quietly a bit overwhelmed and looked up at the two girls sitting opposite her, whispering. Lilly smiled at them, feeling uncomfortable. The two girls were arguing under their breath when the blonde one spoke up._

 _"I'm sorry to ask" she said nervously, "but who are you? And why is everyone making such a fuss at your sorting? They didn't do that when we were sorted?"_

 _"You mean you don't know?" Lilly knew she sounded arrogant but she didn't care. They didn't know who she was! That meant they wouldn't try to be friends with her just to be in her family's good books._

 _"Are we supposed to?" The brunette said in her thick Irish accent. The girl looked worried but Lilly couldn't stop a massive grin from taking over he whole face._

 _"No. No you're not."_

Since that moment the three of them had been best friends. They shared everything and Jen and Sarah were more like sisters to Lilly than friends. They were both muggleborns and neither one had grown up with a bias towards one side or the other. It was refreshing to have people around who couldn't give a fuck about the on-going war. Lilly knew that would change eventually, but for now the three girls were content to talk about other things.

Lilly found Jen and Sarah sitting in a compartment on the other end of the train with Jack Longbottom. Jack Longbottom was in the year above them and had always been a very close family friend of hers. He was tall with broad shoulders and looked a lot like his father but with Luna's wistful grey eyes.

Pulling the compartment's door open, Lilly entered the compartment with a grin, "Hey guys"

"Lils!" Jen said jumping up, her long brown hair flowing behind her. "We didn't know where you were and we were starting to get worried." Lilly smiled at her friend. Jen was kind hearted and passionate about caring for others. She would have been a Hufflepuff were it not for her intelligence and curiosity. Jen would one day make a brilliant healer, mixing her love for knowledge with her love of caring for others.

"Sorry, I was dragged by Rose to sit with her and her friends."

"Lucky! I wish I could sit in the Slytherin compartment for an hour." Sarah said, giving Lilly a tight squeeze. Sarah was at that phase in life when all she could think about was being in a hot, passionate relationship like she'd read in muggle books. Lilly rolled her eyes.

"Your crush on my brother has got to end!" Lilly whined dramatically.

"Who said I was crushing on your brother? While your brother is a fallen angel, Scorpious Malfoy is pretty attractive as well. I mean God! It should be illegal to look that good! And what about Rose? Rose, my friend, is the hottest girl at Hogwarts, bar me obviously, and I think we'd make a very good couple."

"You'd actually go really well together." Lilly said looking over at her friend. Sarah had long blonde hair which would go well with Rose's brunette-blonde colour.

"I know! If only she wasn't straight I'd-" Sarah was interrupted by Jack coughing loudly.

"Can you not talk about that with me sitting right here?" Jack said sounding uncomfortable.

"No one's forcing you to stay." Sarah said flicking her hair before inspecting her nails.

"I came to say hello to Lilly and then I'll be on my way." Lilly smiled at her friend. They'd been friends since childhood and Lilly had spent countless hours running around with him when she was little. Lilly gave him a tight hug that he returned. "Now that I've gotten what I wanted I shall be on my way."

"Bye" Jen said as she pulled out a book from her bag. Lilly knew Jen was forcing herself not to blush; she'd had a crush on Jack for years.

"Later Longbottom." Sarah said as he left the carriage. Lilly sat down opposite her friends and sighed. "I think he likes you, you know." Lilly raised an eyebrow at Sarah's statement.

"Who does?"

"Jack Longbottom. When I was talking about Scorpious he was getting all jealous."

"Maybe he likes you. I mean, why would he get jealous over you saying something about Malfoy if he liked me?"

"Because you were agreeing with me."

"Was not."

"Yes you were. I could see it in your eyes." Sarah said in a voice that was perceived by muggles as 'mystical'. The two girls laughed but Lilly stopped once she saw Jen out of the corner of her eyes looking like she'd just been hit in the face by a wall.

"She was just kidding Jen. Jack doesn't actually like me." Jen looked at her sceptically. "I mean how could he? I'm like a sister to him."

"Really?" Jen said sounding hopeful. "So you wouldn't be against me asking him to the Halloween Ball or anything?"

Lilly beamed at her best friend. "Of course not! I think you'd make an excellent pair!" Jen deserved to be happy and if it was Jack Longbottom that made her happy then so be it.

The three girls started mindlessly chatting about the holidays but Lilly kept getting distracted. For some unknown reason, she couldn't stop thinking about what Scorpious Malfoy had said. _"You're gorgeous"_. Did he actually mean that or was he just messing with her? It wasn't like she actually cared or anything but…. He was hands down the best-looking guy at Hogwarts. He'd never taken any interest in her before; she was just Al's little sister. But she had matured over the summer…

No! No! No! She wasn't Sarah; she didn't do this! She wasn't boy crazy. Scorpious Malfoy was evil. He was the heir to the side of the dark! It would never work! There could never be anything between them; a) because she didn't like him and he most certainly didn't like her and b) because she had to go light. She had to uphold the family name to make sure no one had a reason to say anything against her dad.

"Lilly!" Sarah shouted, clicking her fingers in front of Lilly's face and snapping her out of her thoughts. "I've called your name like three times! Everything ok in there?"

"Yeah, fine. Sorry I must have zoned out or something."

"Daydreaming about someone, are we?" Sarah said, grinning like a Cheshire cat. Lilly flushed and both her friends burst out laughing.

"God, you were as well!" Jen said, sitting up straight. "Well? Who is the lucky boy whose captured the _Princess of Light's_ attention?" Lilly rolled her eyes at the 'Princess of Light' comment. The Daily Prophet had used the name in an article for her 9th birthday and it had stuck much to Lilly's dismay.

"No one. Not all girls are boy crazy you know." Lilly replied, pulling out a book from her bag.

"Maybe not." Sarah agreed, inspecting her nails once again. "But you are." Lilly rolled her eyes again before focusing on her book, effectively blocking her friends out.

It was only an hour before the train finally pulled up at the station. 'I'll be at Hogwarts in twenty minutes!' A massive grin appeared on her face at the thought and Lilly rushed to put her things back in her bag.

Once the three girls had gathered all their stuff together they grabbed their trunks and exited the train. Lilly looked across the platform to where Hagrid was standing, swamped by first years. Hagrid was supposed to be retiring soon but Lilly doubted he'd ever leave. Hogwarts had always been his home and no one would ever force him to leave.

Lilly felt multiple eyes on her and struggled to keep the smile on her face. It was always like this on the first day back. People always stared at her and made her feel like an animal in the cage, locked up for the amusement of curious eyes. It was to be expected though. She was Harry Potter's daughter after all.

When James had been in his seventh year last year, many people had pretended to be his friend just to get form alliances. Luckily for James he knew what they were doing and didn't fall for it. It was something that had been drained into all three Potter children; keep your number of friends small. This meant less room for betrayal and less room for deception.

Lilly knew they would try to do the same with her as well. Not so much Al. He was obviously going to go dark so there was no point in a future member of the light trying to be friends with him. Lilly on the other hand, well, she had to go light.

Trying not to focus on the stares, Lilly walked with her friends to the carriages that were waiting to take them up to Hogwarts. Lilly thanked Merlin that she couldn't see the Thestrals yet. Without a doubt, she'd be able to see them soon. However, Lilly wanted to delay that moment for as long as possible. She didn't need watching someone die adding to her ever-growing list of problems.

Arriving at the Hogwarts gates had always made Lilly feel warm and fuzzy inside. For many people Hogwarts was home, but for Lilly Hogwarts was also her escape from the world she lived in. It was her escape from the horrors that came with being Harry Potter's daughter.

Once the carriage stopped, Lilly shot out of her seat like a bullet and pulled her trunk down. Sarah and Jen quickly followed suit, anxious to get settled in the Ravenclaw dormitories. Lilly steadied her breathing before confidently walking towards the main doorway that led into the main hall. The head of Ravenclaw, Professor Flitwick, was standing by the door. The head of Ravenclaw house was kind and although he didn't have an obvious bias towards Ravenclaw he subtly helped Ravenclaw to always do well in the House Cup. Last year they'd even won due to a couple stray points here and there that Flitwick had given out for pretty much no reason. To say James was annoyed to loose the House Cup in his final year was an understatement to say the least.

The three friends headed up towards the Ravenclaw tower amongst the buzz of other students. Sarah was animatedly talking about a girl she'd met on holiday but Lilly wasn't really listening. After a while she tended to just zone Sarah out whenever she started talking about boys or girls she'd met or thought were good looking.

When they arrived at the entrance to Ravenclaw Tower Lilly's grin widened. The tower was the first place she'd felt safe in a long time, since before the system was put in place. It was her sanctuary, her happy place. Lilly, Jen, and Sarah were at the front of a large group of students and once they reached the door everybody stopped walking and waiting quietly for one of the three girls to answer the riddle.

"I am a natural state, sought by all, go without me and you shall fall"

Lilly thought for a second before answering. "Balance. The answer is balance." For a second the door did nothing before swinging open with a loud creak. Lilly let out a small sigh of relief before walking through the door into the tower.

Smiling fondly, Lilly looked around the tower remembering what it was like to walk through the door for the very first time. She'd been nervous, but Jen and Sarah had linked their arms through hers and they'd walked through together. The high ceilings had always fascinated her and everything from the crackling fire to the bookshelves that lined the blue walls made her feel at home. When she'd gone back to Potter Manor over the Christmas holidays, she had begged her dad to paint her room blue and after many arguments, he had finally given in. If she had wanted to paint it green, well that would have been a whole different story.

The three girls headed up the tower to the fourth year girl's dormitory and chose their beds for the year. The dormitory was a large, circular room with six beds evenly spaced out along the wall. Next to each bed was a large stained glass window that made the room light up with different colours. Since they were the first girls there they got first pick of beds. Lilly took the bed directly opposite the door with Jen and Sarah choosing the beds either side of her. It was the way it had always been ever since first year; Lilly in the middle, Jen on the right, and Sarah on the left.

"I'm so happy to be back!" Sarah said jumping on her bed. "I've missed this all summer!" Sarah was an only child with two workaholic parents and, with Jen and Lilly living so far away, spent much of her holidays alone.

The three of them chatted as they unpacked their belongings. Lilly grabbed her photos and arranged them on her bedside table. They were some of her most prized possessions. Lilly had three photos, which she treasured dearly; the first was a muggle photo that Sarah had given her for her birthday last year. It was a 'selfie' (as Jen and Sarah called it) of the three of them on their first trip to Hogsmeade last September. All three of them had a butterbeer in hand and Jen had a bit of froth around her mouth. The second was a wizarding photo of herself and Al where she kissed his cheek and for the briefest moment he genuinely smiled. Al sometimes fake smiled, and often smirked, but a genuine smile was extremely rare. The third was one of her and her dad from when she was four years old. It was taken before the system was put in place and her Dad looked so stress free and happy. These days he was always stressed and in a bad mood and at times Lilly needed to remind herself that he hadn't always been that way.

"Guys, I have some news." Lilly said once she'd finished unpacking. Jen and Sarah turned to look at her curiously. "This is the year that I finally try out for the Quiditch team!" Lilly had spent the last three years complaining that while James was at school she'd never be able to play and about how it was unfair that she wasn't allowed to play even though both James and Albus had joined the team in their first year.

"Good for you Lils, you'll smash it!" Sarah said, giving her a hug.

"Yeah, with you on the team Ravenclaw will be unstoppable! Everyone knows you're the best Keeper in the school!" It was true. Many people had seen Lilly playing with some of the guys in her year and everyone knew she was a good Keeper.

"I'm not the best in the school. My brother's friend, Jonathon Nott is far better than me." Jon was amazing and was part of the reason Slytherin had won the four times in the last six years. With him in goal and Al and Scorpious as the Chasers, made Slytherin an unstoppable force.

"No way! You've got him beat any day!" Sarah said with a flick of her hair. Lilly just shook her head with a sigh.

"I'm going to talk to Morgan tonight at the feast to find out when the trials are. They can't be that far away." As Lilly was speaking Alex Finnegan and Livvie Jackson walked in. After a few minutes of saying hello and talking about the summer, the five girls decided to make their way down to the welcoming feast.

"Where's Esme?" Jen asked, looking around for the small ginger. Esme was the other fourth year girl in Ravenclaw. She was very quiet and she had a tendency to sneak up on people without them realising, making them jump.

"She went off with her boyfriend but she said she'd meet us in the hall." Livvie said as they walked down the steps of the tower. Esme had started dating William (or Billy as he was known) Hargreaves last year and there had never been a couple more suited. They were both very quiet people, preferring to spend their time reading books then talking to others, but now instead of reading separately, they would sit in the library together and read which was cute.

The Great Hall was already full of people when they arrived. A couple of people turned around to stare at her, but most were too busy excitedly chatting about their summer and, more importantly, the feast that was to come. As Lilly sat down though, she felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand up. Lilly glanced across the Hall to see a pair of striking silver eyes looking straight at her. Scorpious Malfoy smirked when he saw her looking at him causing Lilly to roll her eyes. Jen turned around to see what she was looking at.

"Why is Scorpious Malfoy staring at you?" she said, drawing the attention of the other Ravenclaw girls, including Esme who had just joined them.

"Because he's a prick." Lilly said simply. Jen raised her eyebrow.

"Are you sure there's no other reason?"

"Are you suggesting that Scorpious Malfoy has feelings for me? Well I think you'll be very disappointed to discover that Scorpious Malfoy doesn't have feelings. He's just a prick trying to wind me up because he has nothing better to do."

"I think you're wrong about him." Sarah said, taking a sip of water. "He does have feelings. And I think those feelings are directed towards you." Before Lilly could respond McGonagall stood up, making the Great Hall fall deadly quiet.

"Welcome, students, to another year at Hogwarts! The sorting will proceed in one moment and then on with the feast!" The doors opened and the first years came through looking both terrified and excited at the same time. The sorting hat sang it's song and then the sorting began.

"Benjamin Andrews" a short, straw haired boy stepped forward and the hat was placed on his head.

" _Gryffindor!"_ The Gryffindor table clapped with far too much excitement as the boy, his face now as red as a tomato, made his way over to the table.

"I feel kind of bad for him." Esme said quietly so only the six of them could hear. "That boy, Benjamin Andrews, his life has kind of already been decided for him. He'll go Light just because that's what Gryffindor's are meant to do. I mean how many Gryffindor's actually go Dark? Like only one or two have gone Dark since the system was put in place."

"I disagree." Sarah said "I think we've got it worse. With Gryffindor and Slytherin you don't have to make a decision. Gryffindor's go Light and Slytherin's go Dark. However, we have to decide what to do which is more terrifying I mean, what if you choose wrong? You're stuck there for the rest of your life."

"I think that we shouldn't talk about this until seventh year. Please, I get enough of this from my parents, I just really want a break from the politics." Lilly pleaded. The other girls nodded and turned back to the sorting, which was drawing to a close.

"Eleanor Wood" A small, mousy girl stepped forward who Lilly instantly recognised as Morgan Wood's sister. The girl looked terrified as the hat was placed on her head. After a few moments of silent the hat roared _"Hufflepuff!"_ and the soring ended.

McGonagall stood up again and gave her typical welcome speech before the feast was allowed to commence. Since the girls had arrived slightly late, they were sat towards the end of the table where all the first years were sitting and Lilly could feel it start to begin.

"Excuse me?" A high pitch voice said loud and clear. Lilly sighed before turning around and giving the girl a polite smile. "Are you Lilly Potter?" The other Ravenclaw first years who knew what that meant fell quiet and stared at her waiting for an answer.

"I am." Lilly said looking at the girl in detail. She was tall and skinny and looking like she needed feeding. Lilly watched as the anxiousness left the girls eyes and instead adoration swept in.

"I'm a huge fan of yours." This threw Lilly completely. Why would the girl be a fan of hers? She hadn't done anything.

"Why?" Lilly said voicing her question. "I haven't done anything spectacular."

"Yet." The girl said, confidently. "You just always look really cool in the newspaper and the magazines always feature a story about you." Pure bull shit the lot of it. Rita Skeeta needed a story and the daughter of the leader of Light was the perfect victim.

"Well, thank you. Even if I don't deserve it, thanks." Lilly started to feel awkward so she turned away from the girl and back to her friends who were looking at her knowingly.

"Oh shut up." She said, stabbing a carrot with her fork.

After the feast was over Lilly, Sarah, and Jen headed back up to the Ravenclaw common room. Sitting in the plush comfy armchairs, they talked about life. It didn't matter how long they talked for, there was always more to say. It was one of the things Lilly loved about her friends, their ability to talk about nothing and everything at the same time. It was an hour after they had left the feast when Lilly saw Morgan Wood enter the common room. Jumping up from her seat, Lilly raced over to greet her.

"Hey Morgan, how was your summer?" Lilly asked. Morgan looked up at her and smiled. Even though Morgan was two years older than her, they were very good friends.

"Good thanks. How was yours?"

"Same old, same old. How do you feel about Eleanor going to Hufflepuff?"

"I'm glad it's Hufflepuff instead of Gryffindor or Slytherin. And she's suited to Hufflepuff so I'm sure she'll fit right in." Morgan tucked a piece of hair behind her ear.

"That's good." Lilly said, before taking a deep breath. "Anyway, I meant to ask when the Quiditch trials were?" Morgan was in her second year as the Ravenclaw Quiditch captain and had only just lost to Slytherin last year, which had cost them the cup.

"That's great! We're actually looking for a Keeper after are old one graduated last year. Trials are on Thursday at 5 pm, don't be late!" Lilly promised she wouldn't be and headed back over to where Jen and Sarah were sitting. Telling them she was going to have an early night, Lilly headed up to the dormitory and went to bed.

Although she went to bed early, she didn't get to sleep until after Jen and Sarah and the other girls had come up. She was too busy thinking about Scorpious Malfoy to sleep. Why was he staring at her? He never used to stare at her, why start now? And after what he had said on the train… maybe Jen was right; maybe he did like her.

He couldn't. Surely he knew this. She was Lilly Luna Potter, daughter of Harry Potter, Leader of The Side of The Light. Scorpious was the heir to The Side of The Dark, there was absolutely no way he could like her! He was probably just trying to make her think that he liked her, and try to make her like him, so that she would choose to go Dark and humiliate her father. If he thought he could accomplish that, he was more of an idiot than Lilly had first thought.

If the Ministry hadn't been so paranoid about Death Eaters gathering again and the rise of a new Dark Lord, maybe things would be different. But they had been paranoid and by putting the system in place, they had created exactly what they had feared. They had created more tension between Light and Dark than there had ever been, even in the time of Lord Voldermort there had never been this much hatred between the two sides.

Lilly sighed, rolling over in her bed. She was being ridiculous. As usual she was overthinking the situation and making it more complicated then it needed to be. Scorpious Malfoy was just trying to wind her up, nothing more, nothing less. Lilly repeated that to herself over and over again until sleep finally claimed her.


End file.
